Sunday, April 12, 2015

It's hard to figure out how to begin this post, because the BS is so deep. One of the problems with the Internet is that any psychopath with a broadband connection can circulate swill all over cyberspace. The U.S. political right wing has developed a specialty in this. They are shameless liars.

One screed that's been traveling about the Web is called "Two States in the Middle of America." The "comparison" is between Illinois (Now Obama's home state, of course) and Oklahoma (home to half-witted climate-change deniers like Sen. James Inhofe). The fallacies run throughout this piece of manure (like manure), but I'll point out a few of them:

(1) The screed alleges that a teacher in Chicago makes an average of $110,000 a year. The real figure is $66,000 a year (Source: Indeed).

(2)"In the last six months, 292 killed (murdered) in Chicago, 221 killed in Iraq; AND Chicago has one of the strictest gun laws in the entire US."
FACT: The Chicago murder rate has dropped since 2000, from 627 that year to 431 in 2011. (Source: www.city-data.com)

(3) Throughout this screed, it is repeated that regarding problems in Illinois, "Can't blame Republicans; there aren't any." And yet in the "Chicago chain of command," the governor is misidentified. He's Bruce Rauner, a Republican. He defeated Pat Quinn, the incumbent Democrat.

It would take too long to dismantle this screed point by point, but those are some of the fallacies circulated to people via e-mail. Unfortunately, a lot of people are ignorant enough to believe this stuff when it gets in their e-mailbox.

For a good rundown on yet another recent source of right-wing disinformation, check out www.fitsnews.com, the post of 3/19, titled, "Why Rick Santorum's 'Holy War' Sells In SC."

There was a strange tirade directed at Santorum during his appearance at a national security forum in West Columbia, S.C. Virginia Ellisor, a former schoolteacher, was given the microphone to pose a question to the former Pennsylvania senator.

After an intro that was just standard Republican nonsense, she kept going, bellowing into the mic: "Why is the Congress rolling over and letting this communist dictator (Obama) destroy my country? ... He's not a citizen. ...

"Obama tried to blow up a nuke in Charleston a few months ago, and the three admirals and generals. He has totally destroyed our military. He has fired all the generals and the admirals who said they wouldn't fire on the American people if they ask 'em to do so if he wanted to take the guns away from 'em. This man is a communist dictator. ..."

Santorum, brave soul that he obviously is, didn't bother to correct this clearly demented woman. Instead, he responded that he was not a sitting member of the Senate at the time and could not be held responsible for anything that was not on his watch.

None of this foolishness is anything new. I tried some years ago, quite in vain, to reason with a person I knew who was a Dittohead, Lardbaugh-listening right-winger. He gave me a document that he got off the Internet alleging that Il Doofus (Bush 43) actually won the 2000 popular vote over Gore. I studied this thing and quickly saw that the Michigan popular vote was wrong by millions, and that this was what this horseshit was based on. This person, of course, was far too stupid to notice this.

Joseph Goebbels, the Nazis' propaganda chief, was a great believer in The Big Lie and its power to sway the common rabble. Our own right wing seems to have learned much from the Nazis, and in so many ways. There are plenty of substantive issues that they could be focused on, such as what was on some of Hillary Rodham Clinton's e-mails while she was secretary of state. But those kinds of factual fishing trips aren't enough. They want a whale of a tale, even if it turns out to be a false one.

Separated at birth ...

Followers

Check out Joe's new food and libations blog

Obama's Secret Army?

I fear that some right-wing rubber-room refugees may think I'm serious.

Inside Sarah Palin's Church?

No, not really. This was somewhere in Tennessee. But she used to belong to a Pentecostal church that, among other things, buys into speaking in unknown tongues and faith healing. And then, there's this thing about handling venomous serpents ...

Post of May 18, 2009

"I consider myself a reasonably tough person. But if you waterboarded me enough times, I would probably sign my house and car over to you and confess to the murders of Jonbenet Ramsey and the Lindbergh baby." -- MJ

About Me

As all my posts state, I am an underground writer living in Texas. I am doing political blogging under a nom de plume for various reasons. I was born in 1956 in a small Texas town; I now live in a medium-large city. I have been writing my entire adult life, and have been published, both mainstream and underground. In my teens I was actually a libertarian-type conservative. Meeting Young Republican types in college was crucial to my being cured of that once and for all. At one point in my 20s I was something of a Trotskyite, but eventually became a more moderate progressive.
Since I started this blog and affiliated with other blogs, my writing has appeared in the USA Today, CNN and Reuters online editions, in Buzzflash.com, Crooks and Liars, and a number of other popular sites. My invaluable mentors have been Marc McDonald at BeggarsCanBeChoosers.com, and Blue Girl of They Gave Us a Republic and other fine blogs.
In keeping with anonymity, this is all I should say.

See "Manifesto Joe's Great Moments in Conservative History, Chapter 1"

Favorite progressive movies

Mister Roberts -- see January 2009 post.

The Big Parade, The Crowd, Our Daily Bread, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Seven Days in May, Dr. Strangelove, The Grapes of Wrath, Silkwood, Salt of the Earth, Born on the Fourth of July, A Face in the Crowd, The Manchurian Candidate, Easy Rider, Chinatown, Reds, The Naked and the Dead.

Fear on Trial.

Open City, Seven Beauties, Swept Away, The Bicycle Thief, Grand Illusion, Fury, Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremburg, Pressure Point, The President's Analyst, From Here to Eternity, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Milagro Beanfield War, Native Son, Bob Roberts, There Will Be Blood.

Modern Times, The Great Dictator, Paths of Glory, Spartacus, Hombre, Cool Hand Luke, Pan's Labyrinth, Network, Cutter's Way, All Quiet on the Western Front, Twelve Angry Men, Matewan, Return of the Seacaucus Seven, American History X, Putney Swope, The Pawnbroker, In the Heat of the Night, Norma Rae, North Country.